Device and procedure for disinfecting a toilet appliance

ABSTRACT

The invention is directed to a procedure for disinfecting a toilet appliance in which water for flushing a toilet ( 1 ) is introduced from a cistern ( 9 ) into a flush pipe ( 7 ) and from there into the interior of the toilet ( 1 ). The water is channeled through an ozone generator ( 11 ), where it is enriched with ozone and flows on as ozone water containing dissolved ozone and ozone gas bubbles before it enters the cistern ( 9 ). The cistern ( 9 ) is filled with the ozone water up to a pre-determined water level ( 35 ) and the ozone gas bubbles in the ozone water rise into the gas space above the water level ( 35 ) so that when the cistern ( 9 ) is filled up to the pre-determined water level ( 35 ), a piston effect is exerted by the rising water level ( 35 ) which guides the ozone gas into the flush pipe ( 7 ) and from there into the interior of the toilet ( 1 ). 
     The procedure according to the present invention may be used for disinfecting public toilets, toilets in airplanes, ships, trains and busses, in hospitals, nursing homes and other care institutions. 
     The invention is also directed to a device for disinfecting a toilet appliance with a toilet which is connected to a cistern ( 9 ) via a flush pipe ( 7 ), whereby an ozone generator ( 11 ) is arranged upstream of the cistern ( 9 ). An ozone converter ( 33 ) is arranged between the ozone generator ( 11 ) and the cistern ( 9 ) and an immersion pipe ( 27 ) is arranged in the cistern to introduce water for flushing into the cistern ( 9 ), whereby the immersion pipe is formed as a pipe reactor ( 127 ).

This invention concerns a procedure and a device for disinfecting a toilet appliance. The toilet appliance basically consists of a toilet which is connected to a cistern by a flush pipe. Water to flush the toilet is channeled from the cistern into the flush pipe and from there into the interior of the toilet. An immersion pipe is arranged in the cistern to introduce water for flushing into the cistern from a water supply.

Frequently used toilets often represent a serious hygiene problem and do not meet hygienic requirements. The disinfection of public toilets and those to be found on camping sites or other facilities intended for large numbers of visitors is often unsatisfactory and also cost-intensive due to the staff which have to employed.

Nosocomial infections, i.e. such infections which a patient can catch whilst in hospital are rather on the increase despite significant efforts by hospitals and are especially caused by patients' use of the toilet.

Normally, the toilet seats are mostly cleaned manually with chemical solutions especially provided for the purpose which contain biocides. In addition to other ingredients, such chemical solutions often also contain chlorous disinfectants which release chlorine on use. Such chemical solutions can also contain lactic acid, tensides and aromatic substances. It is known that lactic acid interacts synergistically with chlorine-splitting compounds. Chlorinated disinfection products are not biologically degradable.

Self-cleaning toilet seats, which are available driven by a motor or batteries, are already known. Seat cleaning is triggered after each use of the toilet. Various systems are known here. For example, a hygiene sluice is lowered fully automatically on to the toilet seat and wipes over it with a disinfectant cleaner.

Furthermore, with the EP 1 939 366 [US 2010/0146693] a toilet device has become known which is connected to a cistern into which a bubble generator exits. The water is routed through a closed circuit to be enriched with (air) bubbles. If, for example, a sensor indicates that the toilet appliance has been used, water is pumped out of the cistern into the closed circuit and passes through a gas mixer. There the water is mixed with inflowing gas which according to the basic principle is simply air. A further, separate part of the closed circuit, which may consist of various areas and which has an injection nozzle to produce bubbles, serves to dissolve the gas in the water before the gas-filled water is fed back into the cistern under a sudden change of pressure. Gas not dissolved in the water in this part of the closed circuit is therefore fed outside via a ventilation shaft in order to keep the water level constant.

The sudden change in pressure as the gas-filled water enters the cistern is intended to ensure that relatively few small gas bubbles enter the cistern or larger bubbles destroy each other due to the gyratory movement and thus also produce small gas bubbles.

Mixing the flush water with this water charged with dissolved gas bubbles is intended to increase the cleaning effect in the toilet interior when flushed. The Marangoni effect is thus also to be exploited through which the adhesion of contamination in the toilet appliance to the flush water should be improved. The Marangoni effect is known as such from convections from the field of heat conduction. The surface tension of the water is altered through the wave peaks and troughs which form.

It is also pointed out that the bubble generator as the location for dissolving the gas in the gas mixer can also include an ozone generator. Ozone-containing gas is then mixed with the flush water and fed into the cistern. Here also, excess ozone gas which is not dissolved in the water is fed away via the ventilation shaft and is therefore not available for the cleaning procedure when flushing. In addition, the carbon dioxide contained in the gas-filled water is driven out by the injection nozzle and the limited atomisation of the gas-filled water. Due to this, the pH value of the water increases and thus impedes the dissolution of the ozone in the water. With the short flush procedure, ozone gas cannot diffuse out of the water into the parts of the toilet interior to be cleaned and thus cannot develop its disinfectant effect. Alternatively, provision is made for this state of the art that the water to be enriched with (air) bubbles is not routed through a closed circuit but that the cistern for flushing itself is used as the location for dissolving the gas in the water. In addition, in yet another embodiment a pipe-like area can take care of the dissolving of the gas in the water. This is in the form of a folding pipe which can cause a sudden change in pressure and flow speed due to its shape. As a result, the more or less circular movement of gas bubbles in the form of turbulences arise which take care of the dissolving of the gas in the water. However, the folding pipe illustrated does not permit any turbulent flow.

Starting from this state of the art, it was the object of the present invention to provide a procedure for disinfecting toilet appliances which is simpler than the currently known state of the art but cost-efficient, very effective and which moreover can also be performed in an environmentally compatible manner, and also to provide the necessary appliance.

This problem is solved according to the present invention by a procedure for disinfecting a toilet appliance in which water for flushing a toilet is guided via a cistern into a flush pipe and from there into the interior of the toilet, whereby the water is guided through an ozone generator before it enters the cistern, where it is enriched with ozone and flows on as ozone water which contains dissolved ozone and ozone gas bubbles. The cistern is filled with the ozone water up to a certain pre-determined water level and the ozone gas bubbles in the ozone water rise up into the gas space above the water level so that when the cistern is filled to the pre-determined water level, a piston effect is exerted by the rising water level which guides the ozone gas into the flush pipe and from there into the interior of the toilet.

A simple and environmentally friendly option for disinfecting toilets of all kinds is made available with the procedure according to the present invention. No conventional biocides which would subsequently put an additional strain on sewage treatment plants need to be used for this purpose. In addition, no eco-toxicity is involved and there is also no danger of a contact allergy. Staff costs for manually cleaning the toilet appliance are minimized.

When the ozone water flushes the interior of the toilet it simultaneously eliminates unpleasant odors caused by contamination in the toilet interior or previous use by completely oxidizing them.

Bacteria such as Legionella and Escheria coli, which may be brought in by the water introduced, are reliably and completely destroyed within the cistern fill time, i.e. the time required to refill the cistern. Experiments with Escheria coli have shown that with a contrived amount of bacteria in concentrations which can occur in contaminated water, less than two minutes are required to eliminate the germs to within detection limits.

A further benefit of the procedure according to the present invention is also the surface hydrophilization which it causes. It is known that the wetting of surfaces depends on the surface tension of the water. Ozone has the effect of removing surface tension from water. The droplets therefore run off. If they were to remain, these water droplets could evaporate. This would leave limescale deposits behind which in turn would be a basis for the formation of a biofilm and the unwanted colonization of bacteria. Since this is prevented by the reduction in the water's surface tension by the ozone, the use of tensides for cleaning purposes can be at least significantly reduced if not completely avoided.

A further advantage of the procedure according to the present invention arises if iron-containing water has to be used for flushing. The iron generally occurs in the form of iron (III) oxides in the water. Together with limescale deposits, this often results in brown deposits. Because the water is enriched with ozone and flows on as ozone water containing dissolved ozone and ozone gas bubbles, the iron (III) oxides in the water are oxidized by the ozone to iron hydroxide. Iron hydroxide does not dissolve in water and therefore drops out as flakes in the cistern and is flushed into the drain by the next flushing procedure. The use of acetic acid-based cleaners can therefore be reduced to a minimum.

In an advantageous embodiment, the ozone-enriched water flows through an ozone converter after it has passed through the ozone generator before it enters the cistern.

The ozone converter has the task of partially converting the ozone dissolved in the water into hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) by means of a catalytically active filling. This has the effect of extending the oxidative effect of the water content in the cistern, which is of significance if the toilet appliance remains unused over a longer period of time because whilst ozone decomposes with a half-life of approximately ten minutes H₂O₂, and thus also its oxidative effect, remains dissolved in the cistern water for days and weeks.

During experiments it was shown that the quota of dissolved ozone in the cistern water is higher solely for flush cycles of less than five minutes and the H₂O₂ quota is lower. This relates to the fact that peroxide formation can take up to five minutes.

If the toilet appliance cistern is filled with ozone water up to a pre-determined water level, the ozone gas bubbles contained in the ozone water can rise to the expansion space above the water level.

According to the present invention, a piston effect is produced by the rising water level when the cistern is filled up to the pre-determined water level which forces the ozone gas into the flush pipe and from there into the interior of the toilet. The interior of the toilet includes all expansion spaces which the ozone gas can access. These include in particular the water distributor and the toilet interior which is thus simultaneously a second expansion space.

The ozone gas introduced into the flush pipe and from there into the interior of the toilet is preferably introduced as damp ozone gas which produces a much greater disinfectant effect than dry ozone gas. Because the ozone gas is damp, it is more easily able to yield its third oxygen atom and better develop its disinfectant effect accordingly.

The ozone gas in the immersion pipe, i.e. whilst it passes through the immersion pipe, is especially preferably saturated with water vapor.

This produces an extremely effective procedure which emanates from just a few basic materials which are harmless as regards toxicity. Apart from the ozone produced in the ozone generator, only water in which the ozone is dissolved and aerial oxygen as the carrier gas for the ozone are required as basic materials.

Using aerial oxygen as the carrier gas for the ozone can also achieve a further benefit in that the strain on sewage treatment plants is relieved. The ozone produced by the ozone generator leaves the ozone generator in the intrinsically known manner as an ozone-air mixture. Introducing this ozone-air mixture into the water which passes through the ozone generator means that not only ozone enters the cistern but also oxygen which enters the interior of the toilet through the flush pipe together with the water and from there reaches the sewage treatment plant as waste water. In this way, the oxygen in the ozone-air mixture prevents anaerobic conditions.

This additional oxygen simultaneously promotes nitrification. Nitrification is understood to be the breaking down of ammonium (NH4+) into nitrite by binding atmospheric oxygen. Ammonium is released in the intrinsically known manner through the breaking down of amino acids and proteins or generally organic compounds, e.g. through bacteria. In higher concentrations such as those which can occur in toilets or sewage plants this is not without risk due to the toxic ammonia. The oxidation of ammonia to nitrite (NO₂—) represents the first step towards nitrification. This is followed by transformation into nitrate (NO₃—). From the molecular formulae specified it is clear that this procedure uses oxygen.

Since each toilet appliance of necessity has gap regions into which the ozone gas flows and also openings, the ozone gas can flow into the gap regions and through the openings into the vicinity of the toilet appliance. Openings in terms of the present invention are, for example, a gap between the toilet and the fitted toilet seat or between the toilet seat and the toilet lid. A further inevitable gap is present in the cistern area at the lever with which the flush is operated. The gaseous ozone penetrates all gap regions through flowing and diffusion. This prevents the development of biofilms on which bacteria could otherwise settle. In this way, the ozone gas also quickly and effectively disinfects such gap regions which are otherwise not easily accessible.

Furthermore, the gaseous ozone then flows further into the vicinity of the toilet appliance and oxidizes all odor emissions there. Due to its fast action, the ozone gas purges odors outside of the toilet even with repeated use at short intervals. Particularly in public toilets or cramped conditions such as can be found in airplanes, busses or trains, prejudicial odor emissions from their predecessor no longer await the toilet user.

When the water supply to the cistern is capped as soon as the pre-determined water level is reached, ozone production in the ozone generator can automatically be stopped hydro-pneumatically. This simplifies the use of the appliance and ensures economic consumption. In addition, intrinsically desired ozone emissions can be kept well below permissible concentration limits in the vicinity of the toilet appliance, even in unventilated rooms. It is especially expedient that the accumulation of H₂O₂ is also effectively prevented in this way. The procedure according to the present invention can be deployed in toilet appliances in many different ways. It can thus be used for disinfecting public toilets, toilets in airplanes, ships, trains and busses, in hospitals, nursing homes and other care institutions, whereby this list is not exhaustive.

The invention is also concerned with an appliance for disinfecting a toilet appliance. This comprises a toilet which is connected to a cistern by means of a flush pipe, whereby an ozone generator is arranged upstream of the cistern. An ozone converter is arranged between the ozone generator and the cistern and an immersion pipe is arranged inside the cistern to introduce water for the flush procedure into the cistern, whereby the immersion pipe is in the form of a pipe reactor.

An immersion pipe is preferably arranged inside the cistern to introduce water into the cistern for flushing. The immersion pipe can be in the form of a pipe reactor in order to better dissolve the ozone and the oxygen which serves as a carrier gas during ozone production in the water. The pipe reactor can exhibit a coiling of the reactor pipe or a filling to lengthen the route which the water takes inside the pipe reactor or to reduce the flow rate of the water in the pipe reactor. Both serve to better dissolve the ozone in the water and thus cause an optimization of the disinfection effect.

Preferentially the toilet has a lid. If this lid is closed as specified after the toilet has been used, the gaseous ozone can flow past the toilet seat, which interacts with the lid, and thus also disinfect this area of the toilet in a simple way.

Preferably there is an ozone converter arranged between the ozone generator and the cistern which partly converts the is ozone into hydrogen peroxide.

In a further embodiment, the converter exhibits a filling which is selected from copper oxide, metals from the platinum group or oxides of transition metals or compounds thereof. The filling is catalytically active.

The filling can be selected from a mixture which contains manganese dioxide and copper dioxide; it can be specifically selected from hopcalites.

In the following, the invention is explained in more detail by means of exemplary embodiments and the enclosed drawing.

Shown in the Drawing are:

FIG. 1 a schematic cutaway view of the appliance according to the present invention;

FIG. 1 a a schematic cutaway view of an appliance not according to the present invention with an immersion pipe in a cistern using ozone water which exhibits no surplus gaseous ozone which is not dissolved in the water;

FIG. 1 b a schematic cutaway view of the appliance according to the present invention which illustrates the piston effect of the rising water level for the ozone gas bubbles rising out of the water;

FIG. 2 a schematic cutaway view of a pipe reactor which exhibits a filling in the form of glass balls, and

FIG. 3 an incomplete schematic cutaway view of a pipe reactor in the form of an immersion coil which exhibits a filling in the form of chippings.

1. EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 shows a toilet appliance which exhibits a toilet 1 with a toilet seat 3 which can be closed with a lid 5 and which is connected to a flush pipe 7 with a flush cistern designated with the reference number 9. The toilet appliance also includes an ozone generator 11 connected to the cistern 9. This requires energy for operation which can be taken from a power supply network. This energy can, however, also be supplied by a battery, a dynamo which is e.g. powered by water pressure, or a solar panel. These different options, which are known to anyone skilled in the art, are not explained further in FIG. 1.

The toilet appliance is initially used in the usually known manner which is described briefly here in order to be able to explain disinfection according to the present invention simultaneously.

After use of the toilet 1 by a person has been completed, they close the lid 5 and clean the toilet interior 1 by operating the pull lever 13. This operation of the pull lever 13 or a comparable device with a corresponding effect raises a standpipe 15 connected to it in an intrinsically known manner. This causes a store of water to flow out of the cistern 9 to which the pull lever 13 is fitted, through the flush pipe 7 which ends in the cistern 9, to a water distributor 17. The water distributor 17 represents the opening of the flush pipe 7 into the interior of the toilet 1 on the one hand and on the other constitutes a circumferential gap in the toilet 1. This enables the water in the interior of the toilet 1 to be distributed more or less evenly so that it wets and rinses its inner walls. Via a syphon 19 the water is then guided into outflow 21 and from there into the drains or a reservoir which feeds the disposal system. If cistern 9 is empty this means that stand pipe 15 is sinking, and cistern 9 closes. A seal 23 ensures a good seat and a proper closure.

A float valve 25 is arranged in cistern 9 which is connected to an immersion pipe 27. The float valve 25 is now open to let water from a water supply 29 flow back into cistern 9 via immersion pipe 27 through the water pressure. The water input valve 31 displayed in the embodiment as a manual valve regulating the water supply 29 is open at this point.

According to the present invention, the water flowing into cistern 9 is enriched with gaseous ozone in ozone generator 11 which is arranged downstream of water input valve 31 and it flows from there to an ozone converter 33. The ozone converter 33 is arranged upstream of float valve 25. It exhibits a filling consisting of copper oxide granulate, wool, chippings or the like. After passing through ozone converter 33 the water reaches float valve 25 and is guided from there via immersion pipe 27 into cistern 9.

As it passes through ozone converter 33 the water is partly converted to hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). The water additionally comprises non-transformed ozone dissolved in it and ozone gas bubbles. The copper oxide acts as a catalyst for degrading the ozone. Other metals such as those of the platinum group (platinum, palladium, etc.) and metal oxides can, however, equally be used a catalyst. Such metal oxides would be oxides of transition metals or compounds thereof. Compounds containing manganese dioxide and copper oxide have proven to be especially good. Such catalysts have become especially well known under the name hopcalites. Hopcalites can consist of different compounds. Apart from manganese dioxide and copper oxide, they can also contain nickel oxide, cobalt oxide and silver oxide and also so-called promoters such as lithium and/or potassium oxide.

The cistern 9 is filled in an intrinsically known manner with water up to a pre-determined limit mark which defines the maximum water level 35. This water is ozone water. Within the terms of the present invention the term ozone water refers to the previously described water which has passed through the ozone converter 33 and now exhibits the H₂O₂ dissolved therein and also non-transformed ozone and ozone gas bubbles. The carrier gas for the ozone is aerial oxygen so that the gas is always a mixture of ozone and aerial oxygen. The ozone gas bubbles rise and collect in a gas space 37. This gas space 37 refers to the area of the cistern 9 which is situated above the water level 35 in the cistern 9. After flushing, this water level 35 rises again due to the water flowing in through the immersion pipe 27 and presses the ozone gas like a piston into the flush pipe 7, from there on into the water distributor 17 and into the interior of the toilet 1, which in this context can basically be described as a second gas space 39. This second gas space 39 becomes especially favorable and stable if the lid 5 of the toilet 1 is closed after use.

For the disinfection effect as such it has proved to be important that the ozone gas thus flowing into the flush pipe 7, the water distributor 17 and the second gas space 39 is damp ozone gas. The saturation of the ozone with water vapor is mainly achieved in the immersion pipe 27.

Experiments have shown that the ozone gas is 100% saturated with water vapor. The supply rate of the damp ozone gas via the previously described piston effect was approximately 15 l/min in the embodiment. In addition, it has been shown that a much lesser disinfection effect can achieved with the introduction of dry ozone gas.

Apart from in the said gas spaces, ozone gas also escapes into the vicinity of the toilet appliance. Firstly, there is an aperture for the ozone gas in the duct 41 in the vicinity of the pull lever 13. It also escapes into a gap 43 between the toilet seat 3 and the toilet lid 5. The ozone gas contains an air humidity of 100% relative humidity. The significance and benefits of these ozone gas flows is explained in more detail below.

If the water in the cistern 9 is filled up to the pre-determined limit mark and the maximum water level 35 has thus been reached, the float valve 25 closes automatically. As a result, the water flow and also the ozone production are interrupted.

The principle of the piston effect with which the water flowing in through the immersion pipe 27 raises the water level 35 and simultaneously presses the ozone gas into the standpipe 15 and there into the flush pipe 7 is illustrated again according to the present invention in FIGS. 1 a and 1 b. FIG. 1 a shows the state in which just ozone water is used which has no ozone bubbles and thus no surplus gaseous ozone which has not been dissolved in the water.

In contrast, FIG. 1 b shows a rising water level whereby the water contains ozone gas within the terms of the present invention in the form of ozone gas bubbles. These rise at least partly in the water then appear as ozone gas below the water level 35; this ozone gas is pressed into the standpipe 15 and further into the flush pipe 7 by the rising water level 35. In this way, the ozone gas reaches the interior of the toilet 1 and can make an effective contribution to the disinfection of the toilet interior.

1.1 Analysis of the Ozone Emissions

The investigations described below were based on the DIN standard for ozone emissions DIN EN 60335-2-65 for unventilated rooms.

The lid 5 of the toilet 1 was closed and toilet was flushed in the manner described above. Ozone gas thus flows into the interior of the toilet 1 as a second gas space 39. It flows on via the gap 43 between the toilet seat 3 and the toilet lid 5 into the vicinity of the toilet 1. Odors resulting from use of the toilet should be removed by these ozone emissions into the vicinity of the toilet 1.

The DIN test space volume is 26.25 m³. In order to reach limit concentrations in accordance with the DIN standard, ozone production and subsequent emission of 2.6 mg O₃/min would be required with the requirement that no ozone is consumed, either through the reaction with substances of any kind on the way from the ozone generator 11 through the immersion pipe 27 into the cistern 9 and further via the flush pipe 7 and the water distributor 17 into the interior of the toilet 1.

These experiments were performed with different quantities of ozone per minute which lay within the range 7-0.5 mg O₃/min. A preferred operating concentration of 2 mg O₃/min for the purposes of disinfection in accordance with the present invention was thereby determined.

Even with constantly flowing water, which is achieved in that the float valve 25 does not close, the limit concentration in an unventilated room, taking into account the decomposition rate of ozone with a half-life of 10 min, cannot be reached at the preferred operating concentration of 2 mg O₃/min.

1.2 Analysis of the Change in the pH Value in the Water

This investigation was based on the drinking water treatment regulations which prescribe a maximum pH value of 9.5.

The pH value of carbonate-containing water can be increased by gassing with ozone. The principles of the so-called lime-carbonic acid balance must be taken into account, which is mainly responsible for the lime-separating or lime-dissolving character of the water and affects the balance between CO₂, HCO₃— and CO₂ ²—. The fundamentals of the principles in this lime-carbonic acid balance are basically well-known. They mean that a maximum pH value of 8.2 can be achieved for the water if the pH value for a balance between CO₂ and HCO₃— with a measured pK1 value is determined. This lies below the maximum value prescribed by the drinking water treatment regulations.

2. EMBODIMENT

This second, additional embodiment of the toilet appliance according to the present invention differs mainly from that in the first embodiment in that a pipe reactor 127 illustrated in more detail in FIG. 2, which replaces the simple immersion pipe 27 in the first embodiment, is situated in the cistern 109 and is intended to saturate the ozone gas with water vapor even more effectively. The components which are the same as in the first embodiment are accordingly given the same reference numbers but offset by the FIG. 100.

The second embodiment of the toilet appliance according to the present invention also has toilet 101 with a toilet seat 103. The toilet seat 103 can be closed with a lid 105 and is connected to a cistern designated with the number 109 via a flush pipe 107. The toilet appliance also comprises an ozone generator 111 connected to the cistern 109. The energy required to run it is supplied in the manner already explained in the first embodiment.

The water flowing into the cistern 109 is enriched beforehand with gaseous ozone in the ozone generator 111 which again is arranged downstream of the water 129 after the water input valve 131 and flows from there to an ozone converter 133. The ozone converter 133 is arranged upstream of the float valve 125. It exhibits a filling as already described in the first embodiment.

After passing through the ozone converter 133, the water reaches the float valve 125 to which there is no longer an immersion pipe 27 attached to introduce the water into the cistern 109 but a pipe reactor 127, which is described in more detail below.

The pipe reactor 127 initially exhibits a gas frit 128, which subsequently introduces the water at the float valve 125 into the pipe reactor 127 at the present water pressure. The water inlet valve 131 regulating the water supply 129 is open. Gas bubbles are formed at the gas frit 128 which contain ozone and which rise in the pipe reactor 127. To reduce the flow rate, the pipe reactor 127 contains a filling and the area in which the filling is arranged adjacent to the frit 128 is known as the filling material area 145. The filling can be of balls or hollow or other pieces. In a preferred embodiment, as here in the embodiment, it is formed from pipe pieces in one variant and of glass balls 147 in another, as illustrated in a cut-away of the filling material area in FIG. 2 in accordance with line I-I to II-II in FIG. 2 a. For anyone skilled in the art it is obvious that the naming and use of these two filling variants is of an exemplary nature. Raschig rings can also be used instead of these fillings. To anyone skilled in the art it is obvious that other packagings are also suitable as a filling.

It is important that this filling fulfils the tasks it faces. It should be seen as a device for reducing the ozone bubbles on the one hand and as a mass transfer column on the other. Whilst, however, a mass transfer column traditionally normally exhibits a high proportion of gas which has to absorb a small amount of liquid, in this case a small quantity of gas is to be absorbed into a relative large quantity of liquid. The filling initially has the effect of significantly increasing the number of gas bubbles and the gas bubble diameter is reduced accordingly. This is graphically illustrated in FIG. 2, which shows the cutaway of the filling material area 145 already described above. The filling works accordingly as a bubble shredder. The surface increases significantly in size due to the reduction in the size of the gas bubble diameter whilst the gas volume remains unchanged. The surface is directly proportional to the material exchange. In addition, the dissolvability of the ozone in the water is additionally increased through the gas pressure in the filling material area.

The filling material can be porous or smooth. The flow rate of the ozone in the filling material area 145 is reduced by the filling materials. This means that the ozone has sufficient time to dissolve in the water with which it flows through the pipe reactor 127. Since aerial oxygen as the carrier gas is always necessary for the production of ozone and the ozone leaves the ozone generator 111 as an ozone aerial gas mixture, this aerial oxygen can also dissolve better in the water, which already has benefits with regard to the first exemplary embodiment.

When regarded in the flow direction of the water, the filling material area 145 is enclosed below and the water enriched with ozone and the aerial oxygen leaves the pipe reactor 127 through slits 147, which are arranged in this end area of the pipe reactor 127 to fill the cistern up to the pre-determined maximal water level 135 in the cistern.

3. EMBODIMENT

This further embodiment of the toilet appliance according to the present invention illustrated in FIG. 3 differs from the second embodiment mainly in the arrangement of the pipe reactor 227 in the cistern 209. Here again, this version of the pipe reactor 227 replaces the simple immersion pipe 27 described in the first embodiment. The components which are the same as in the first embodiment are accordingly given the same numbers but offset by the FIG. 200.

This third embodiment also exhibits a toilet 201 with a toilet seat 203. The toilet seat 203 can be closed with a lid 205 and is connected to a cistern designated by the number 209 by a flush pipe 207. The toilet appliance also comprises an ozone generator 211 attached to the cistern 209. The energy required to operate it is supplied as already described in the first embodiment.

The water flowing into cistern 209 is enriched beforehand with gaseous ozone in the ozone generator 211, which again is arranged downstream of the water input valve 231. The ozone generator 211 contains a Venturi injector 212, which achieves a high degree of efficiency for dissolving the ozone in the water coming from the water supply 229. This Venturi injector 212 is closed when valve 225 is closed. The is ozone-enriched water flows on from there to an ozone converter 233. The ozone converter 233 is arranged upstream of the float valve 225. It shows a filling as already described in the first embodiment.

After passing through the ozone converter 233, the water reaches the float valve 225 to which there is no longer an immersion pipe 27 attached to introduce the water into the cistern 209 but a pipe reactor 227, which is described in more detail below.

The pipe reactor 227 shows a coil in the form of a hose reel which can be supplied in various lengths. In the embodiment, the filling consists of copper wire wool. It is also obvious here that the use of copper wire wool is of an exemplary nature. A wide variety of granulates in the form of wool or chippings can be used.

Furthermore, in the test version of this third embodiment, coils up to a length of 10 m were used and gave good results. The preferred coil was, however, one with a length of approximately 10 m because it permitted the longest possible residence time for the water together with the ozone gas bubbles in the pipe reactor 227. The pipe reactor 227 in this embodiment also serves to reduce the flow rate of the ozone and the ozone-oxygen mixture in the pipe reactor 227. The winding which forms the coil is located below the maximum water level 235 in the cistern 209 after the cistern 209 has been filled.

It has become evident that the flow rate of the water 229 which contains ozone gas bubbles is effectively slowed by the pipe reactor coil. The ozone therefore has enough time here to dissolve in the water with which it flows through the pipe reactor 227. Since aerial oxygen is always required as a carrier gas for the production of ozone and the ozone leaves the ozone generator 211 as an ozone-gas mixture, this aerial oxygen can also dissolve better in the water, which has the advantages already described in the first exemplary embodiment.

The following examines an important aspect concerning the reaction and thus the dissolving of the ozone in the water during the residence time in the pipe reactor 227 in more detail. A genuine turbulent flow is present in the pipe reactor 227, i.e. a flow with a Reynolds number Re of >>2300. The known Reynolds color experiments were performed to examine the flow behavior in the pipe reactor 227 according to the present invention. According to these, there should be no mixing in a radial direction in a laminar current, i.e. with a Reynolds number< as Rekrit=2300 when a colorant is added to the current path of the pipe current. If a turbulent flow is present, however, the colorant spontaneously spreads in a radial direction and produces a colored solution with complete mixing. Such swirling can only occur as from a critical velocity which can be described with Re=2300. Such complete mixing was confirmed by the color experiments in the pipe reactor according to the present invention.

With regard to this third embodiment of the toilet appliance according to the present invention with the helical form of the pipe reactor 227, it should also be pointed out that the three procedure steps which are important for effectiveness—the conversion from O₃ to H₂O₂, the reduction in gas bubble size to increase their effective surface area and the production of a turbulent pipe flow with the benefit of hundred percent mixing of the water with the finely dispersed ozone gas bubbles—all take place simultaneously in the helical immersion pipe filled with granulate in the form of wool or chippings as a pipe reactor 227. The length of the immersion pipe or immersion coil is preferably chosen so that the ozone in the form of ozone gas bubbles can dissolve completely in the water.

To summarize, it can be ascertained that according to the embodiments as described above in examples 1 to 3, the water distributor 17, 117, 217, the toilet interior in the form of the second gas space 39, 139, 239 and the gap between the toilet seat and the toilet lid 43, 143, 243 are always disinfected by means of ozone gas saturated with water vapor and the water distributor 17, 117, 217 and the flush pipe 7, 107, 207 are additionally also disinfected. The flush pipe 7, 107, 207 supplies ozone water and ozone gas out of the cistern into the distributor 17, 117, 217. When the toilet is used at a high rate of frequency, such as is the case with public toilets, which represent a problem as regards disinfection, dissolved ozone residues are present in the cistern water so that the flush water contributes to the overall ozone dose. 

1. A procedure for disinfecting a toilet appliance in which water for flushing a toilet is introduced from a cistern into a flush pipe and from there into the interior of the toilet, whereby the water is channeled through an ozone generator, where it is enriched with ozone and flows on as ozone water containing dissolved ozone and ozone gas bubbles before it enters the cistern wherein the cistern is filled with the ozone water up to a pre-determined water level and the ozone gas bubbles in the ozone water rise into the gas space above the water level so that when the cistern is filled up to the pre-determined water level, a piston effect is exerted by the rising water level which guides the ozone gas into the flush pipe and from there into the interior of the toilet.
 2. The procedure as in claim 1, wherein the ozone-enriched water passes through the ozone generator and then flows through an ozone converter before it enters the cistern, and that the ozone converter partially converts the ozone dissolved in the water into hydrogen peroxide by means of a catalytically active filling.
 3. The procedure as in claim 1, wherein the ozone gas introduced into the flush pipe and from there into the interior of the toilet is introduced into the flush pipe and the interior of the toilet as damp ozone gas.
 4. The procedure as in claim 3, wherein the ozone gas in the immersion pipe is saturated with water vapor.
 5. The procedure as in claim 1, wherein the toilet appliance has gap regions into which the ozone gas flows, and that it has openings through which the ozone gas flows into the vicinity of the toilet appliance.
 6. The procedure as in claim 1, wherein the water supply to the cistern is stopped as soon as the pre-determined water level is reached and that ozone production in the ozone generator is then stopped automatically.
 7. The procedure as in claim 1 for disinfecting public toilets, toilets in airplanes, ships, trains and busses, in hospitals, nursing homes and other care institutions.
 8. A device for disinfecting a toilet appliance with a toilet which is connected to a cistern via a flush pipe, whereby an ozone generator is arranged upstream of the cistern, wherein an ozone converter is arranged between the ozone generator and the cistern and an immersion pipe is arranged in the cistern to introduce water for flushing into the cistern, whereby the immersion pipe is formed as a pipe reactor.
 9. The device as in claim 8, wherein the pipe reactor is formed as a coil to lengthen the route taken by the water inside the pipe reactor.
 10. The device as in claim 8, wherein the pipe reactor has a filling to decrease the flow rate of the water in the pipe reactor.
 11. The device as in claim 8, wherein the toilet has a lid.
 12. The device as in claim 8, wherein the converter has a filling, and that the filling is selected from copper oxide, platinum group metals, oxides of transition metals or compounds thereof.
 13. The device as in claim 12, wherein the catalytically active filling is selected from a mixture containing manganese dioxide and copper oxide, in particular hopcalite. 